TraceSecurity is focused on delivering cloud-based IT GRC solutions, whereas Qualys is a cloud security and compliance management solutions vendor. The two companies have teamed up and are relying on their respective technologies for this venture—specifically, TraceCSO and QualysGuard Vulnerability Management. The partnership presents an integration of the two products in a cloud-based IT GRC package.

According to the companies, although TraceCSO is equipped with its own vulnerability management capabilities, the integration with QualysGuard will enable users to manage their vulernability scan results within TraceCSO's centralized interface. QualysGuard has also been integrated to influence other areas of TraceCSO, including risk, audit and compliance management.

Together, TraceSecurity and Qualys share an overlapping customers base, and the integration between their cloud-based offerings will make it easier for those joint customers. Additionally, this could extend their respective markets into each other's territories without any cause for concern over customer poaching.

"With seamless integration into TraceCSO's workflow, alerting, reporting and ticketing systems, Qualys customers will continue to benefit from their investments in vulnerability management while leveraging a leading and complete cloud-based IT GRC software solution," said Peter Stewart, president and CEO of TraceSecurity, in a prepared statement.

Stewart also hinted at further collaboration with Qualys.

This should present some opportunities to channel partners. TraceSecurity has been working to further enable channel partners in the last couple of months with central management of TraceCSO APIs, and the company manages its partner relationships through its own partner program.

How many of their partners are shared is anybody's guess, but considering the overlap with customers, it's a safe bet there is some channel overlap as well. Perhaps this might be the ticket some TraceSecurity or Qualys partners need to join the other's partner programs and deliver an integrated, cloud-based security offering.